The 5 Minute Discipleship Podcast

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#664: Don't Give Up On Prayer Aug 01, 2022

Show notes

I believe God uses persistence in prayer to purge our desires. God also uses persistence in prayer to mold, and transform our desires, to change how we pray and even what we are praying for so that we gradually come to pray closer to the heart of God’s will.

Main Points:

1. In the story, Jesus is teaching his followers about the importance of persistent prayer. He says two things. First, we should always pray. Second, we should not give up.
2. It's important to know that the point of the parable is not that if you pray and pray and pray, you’ll eventually wear God down, and he’ll give you what you want. The point of the story is that if an evil judge will respond to requests that are made, how much more would a loving Heavenly Father do? With this confidence in our hearts, we should always pray and not give up.
3. Let’s remember that persistence in prayer is for our benefit, not God’s. If we always got exactly what we wanted the first time we asked, it's likely we would begin to treat God as our genie, only summoned forth to give us more wishes. But that is precisely what prayer calls into question: What do you really want?

Today’s Scripture Verses:

Luke 18:1 - “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.”

1 Thessalonians 5:17 - “Pray continually.”

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#663: We are not Hopeless Jul 29, 2022

Show notes

Remember this: our hope in God isn't just a wish or a dream, but sure confidence that what God says will happen. Every other hope will disappoint. Every other hope will come up short. God is the one who never fails, he never leaves us, and he never forsakes us.

Main Points:

1. Today, I ask you to let the Word of God penetrate the dark place in your soul. Let the light of God’s truth illuminate your situation. If you feel hopelessness, despair, discouragement, or depression, receive this Word from the Lord.
2. Just because you can’t see him, it doesn’t mean God is not at work in your life. Just because you don’t recognize it at the moment, it doesn’t mean there is no way out. Just because you don’t feel him, it doesn’t mean the Lord is not with you.
3. Discouragement, despair, and hopelessness are not God’s will for your life. Let his truth fill your heart and mind. Meditate on His Word. Let God restore your hope.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

Psalm 34:17-19 - “The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each time.”

Psalm 113:4-5 - “For the Lord is high above the nations; his glory is higher than the heavens. Who can be compared with the Lord our God, who is enthroned on high?”

Matthew 19:26 - “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
1 John 4:16 - “ We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.”

Psalm 25:3 - “No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame”

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#662: True Faith Leads to Obedience Jul 28, 2022

Show notes

Faith and obedience go hand in hand. What leads us to obey God is the fact that we trust Him. If you don’t trust him, you won’t obey Him. Faith is a choice. Obedience is a choice. Every time we do something just because God “said so” we are acting in faith.

Main Points:

1. By faith we believe in the Word of God. This faith leads us to submit ourselves in obedience to our Savior. We obey because we truly believe. A lack of faith leads to a lack of obedience.
2. We must admit that it’s not always easy to obey. It’s also not always easy to believe. Yet, this is what God calls us to. It’s easier to obey when we can picture how God will bless our obedience, but so much harder when we don’t see the point of it. God does not always reveal the why behind his call to obedience.
3. All God requires of you is to keep putting one foot in front of the other as you walk the walk of obedience. Your steps of obedience is the proof of your faith in God.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

Hebrews 11:8 - "By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.”

James 2:17 - “Faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.”

James 2:26 - “Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.”

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#661: Loving God with your Mind Jul 26, 2022

Show notes

I’m fascinated with the idea that we are to love God with all of our minds. The Bible sees the mind as a place of our thoughts, judgment, and intention. Our minds allow us to be rational, weigh evidence, make decisions about right and wrong, and to develop opinions. Our minds allow us to worship, praise God, love, repent, and trust.

Main Points:

1. Why is it important to consider loving God with our minds? Because during a typical day we constantly use our minds to make decisions. How many thoughts pass through your mind every day? Several studies have shown that we think around 6,000 thoughts per day. Our mind is a huge part of who we are.
2. Loving God with our minds is critical because our minds are connected to our emotions and our actions.
3. God gives us the power to change how we think so through even our thoughts we are loving and honoring God.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

Mark 12:29-30 - “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’”
2 Corinthians 10:5 – “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

Colossians 3:2 - “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
Romans 12:2 - “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

Colossians 1:9 - “So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding.”

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#660: The Tragedy of Neglect Jul 25, 2022

Show notes

Neglecting the things that are important does not usually occur in one big step or one decisive action. No, neglect occurs slowly. It’s incremental. Neglect happens when we ignore the little things. It doesn’t seem like a big deal, but there is a cumulative effect to neglect. Little things add up to big things.

Main Points:

1. When we neglect spending time with Jesus, when we neglect our faith, when we neglect the house of God, there are consequences. We can fall prey to the temptation that little things don’t matter, but they truly do.
2. What is neglect? To pay no attention or too little attention to; to disregard or to slight; To be remiss in the care or treatment of; To omit, through indifference or carelessness
3. Think about neglect. Typically neglect is not deliberate. It is not willful. It is not an intentional sin. It is something that happens because of familiarity, or distraction, caused by having too many things going on in our lives.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

Nehemiah 13:11 - “Why is the house of God being neglected?”
Hebrews 2:1 - “We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.”

Revelation 2:4-5 - “….You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.”

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#659: A Forgotten Doctrine Jul 22, 2022

Show notes

Know this: God always has a next step for us. Until we see Jesus in glory, God is not finished with us. This work of ongoing spiritual growth and development is called sanctification.

Main Points:

1. The basic meaning of "sanctify" is to set apart to God, for His use. This work of “setting us apart” is the ongoing spiritual growth makes you and me more like Jesus.
2. Sanctification is the work of God in our lives to call us away from sin, ungodliness, and wordiness, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, enable us to live holy and righteous lives that reflect Christ.
3. Salvation is a momentary act, bringing us from spiritual death to life. It is exclusively God's work. Sanctification is an ongoing process, it is dependent on God's ongoing work in our lives, but it also requires our continuous fight against sin.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

1 Thessalonians 4:3 - “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified.”
Romans 8:29 - (God is) “conforming us to the image of His Son.”
Ephesians 2:8-9 - “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 - “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.”

Philippians 1:6, “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ.”

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#658: Finding God in the Midst of the Storm Jul 21, 2022

Show notes

If storms are inevitable, unpredictable, and impartial, then the issue really becomes “what is my response going to be to the storms that are inevitably going to happen in my life?” Where will you turn? Where will you go? What will you do?

Main Points:

1. We can turn to Jesus in the midst of our storm. He is there. He is available. He cares. Don’t ride out the rough seas without turning to the one who can either calm the storm around you or the storm within you.
2. There will be nothing you will face for the rest of your life that you face alone. God is with you. Jesus is in your boat. We tend to forget that in storms. We think we're all alone. We think that God is far away.
3. The disciples really had no reason to fear. They had what every one of us have. They had the close presence of Christ. Like the disciples, let’s turn to Christ and find God in the midst of our storm.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

James 1:2 - "When you face trials..."
Matthew 5:45 "He sends the rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."
Mark 4:38 - “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
Isaiah 43:1-2 "Fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name, you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you!"

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#657: Humble Yourself Before the Lord Jul 20, 2022

Show notes

It’s always better to listen to the caution of the Holy Spirit and to guard our hearts against pride. If we do not live in humility before the Lord. God himself will humble us, and it is not pleasant.

Main Points:

1. What is Humility? Humility is an accurate estimation of our self-importance in relation to God and others. Humility is having a right view of yourself because you have a right view of God.
2. Humility is not thinking too highly of yourself. It’s also not thinking to low of yourself. It’s having an accurate estimation of our self-importance in relation to God and others.
3. So, how do we humble ourselves? We focus on the greatness of God. In my life I cannot be prideful and God be great. It can’t happen at the same time. Either I think God is great or I think I am great. It’s having a right view of yourself because you have a right view of God.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

James 4:10 - “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”

Luke 14:11 - “For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
“Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.” (Romans 12:3)

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#656: Where is the Joy? Jul 19, 2022

Show notes

How is it possible to have all of our sins forgiven, to have the promise of eternal life, to daily live with a relationship with God, and not have joy? How is it possible? If we have experienced such amazing gifts from God, shouldn’t our lives radiate the joy of the Lord?

Main Points:

1. Joy in the Biblical context, is not an emotion. Joy is an attitude of the heart. It is not necessarily based on something positive happening. Joy is something that lasts; happiness is something that is temporary. When happiness fades away, joy remains. Joy is something God deposits into us through the Holy Spirit.
2. What steals our joy? Well, truthfully, nothing can steal our joy. It is a gift from God. It is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. The devil can’t steal your joy. Neither can people. But you can give it away. You can choose to relinquish your joy.
3. Remember this: Joy is a gift from God. It’s his will that you live a joyful life. Yes, life will throw at you all kinds of difficulties. They come to us all. But even in the midst of crisis and turmoil, there is a supernatural joy God intends for you to have.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

Psalm 51:12 - “Restore to me the joy of your salvation.”
Nehemiah 8:10 - “The joy of the Lord is your strength.”

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#655: The Choices of Fear or Faith Jul 18, 2022

Show notes

In my life, I have discovered that when it comes to the choices of fear and faith, it’s not always one or the other. Life produces fear, it’s an emotion we feel, but with God’s help, I can choose faith anyway. Though I may feel fear, I choose to trust God.

Main Points:

1. As Christians, we acknowledge that fear is a choice. We can also make another choice. It’s the decision to live by faith.
2. Having faith doesn’t diminish the reality of what we are facing, it doesn’t deny it or sweep it under the rug. Faith is not pretending the hard times aren’t there. Faith is choosing to believe that God is with us in our battle and that the ultimate outcome is in His hands. He is involved in every detail of our lives.
3. Faith brings God into the equation. As I face my fears, I remember what the Bible says about God’s character and his power. God is both loving and strong. He is compassionate and powerful.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

Psalm 23:4 - “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.”

Psalm 86:15 - “But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.”

Ephesians 3:20 - “God…is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us.”

Psalm 56:3 - “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.”

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